Thunderstorm
by MageNellofGalla
Summary: One-shot. D/N. He can't sleep without her by his side... especially with the gods beating their drums.


**Set a bit after RotG. Enjoy! :D**

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><p>The Wildmage buried herself in the sheets and scolded herself silently. She was fearless against plenty of unimaginable immortals and even Emperor Ozorne but she was afraid of thunder. Another clap of the horrible sound echoed throughout the realm and she curled up further.<p>

Only the sounds of her animal friends comforted her. But enough of that thunder scared them witless. They ran under her bed for shelter, claiming that it was getting too stuffy under the blankets.

She tried to compose herself before consulting the People. She, too, was afraid.

_Breath in, breath out,_ she told herself. _Block out every thunder clap. It's just like meditating._

But it _wasn't_ just like meditating. That crack of the clouds jolted her out of concentration, making her anxiety rise once more. Finally, she gave up.

"Hey," she whispered softly. Daine dangled herself from the bed, only her hands keeping her steady. Her wild curls reached the floor. "It's okay. It's just sounds. It won't hurt you." She tried to be comforting but the shaking of her voice gave her away.

_Yes it will,_ came the reply of the People from below the bed. _It's a big dragon trying to trap us in its jaws._

Kitten trilled in disapproval. She had never before met a dragon who was hungry for woodland animals.

"Kitten's right, you guys. If anything, it's just the Gods smiting us," she told them.

_That's worse!_ Retorted a chipmunk.

"Fine," Daine sighed. "Just go to sleep and the storm should be gone by sunrise."

_Help us sleep,_ a timid castle mouse squeaked. This particular one was trembling.

Daine sat up on her bed. Her head was starting to pound from the blood rushing to it. She did her bidding, commanding each of them to sleep, adding a touch of magic so that it stuck.

_Thank you,_ the mouse yawned. Soon, the room was silent. Only the sound of rain filled the room, making Daine feel very lonely. Daine flopped back down on her bed, hoping that _she_ could get a night's sleep as well. How she wished that Numair hadn't insisted that they stayed in separate rooms…

When she was on the verge of sleep, a small knock came on the door. It creaked open to reveal a tall, lanky man.

"Magelet." It was Numair. "Are you awake?"

She sat bolt upright. "Yeah, why?" She changed her eyes to that of a cat so she could see. The swarthy mage wore wrinkled pajamas and brought a pillow with him.

"I couldn't fall asleep." Numair looked blindly around the room until he saw Daine. "Mithros, Daine!" he exclaimed. "Don't look at me with those eyes in the night during a_ thunderstorm_. They're too startling even for me."

She laughed and obeyed. "Why couldn't you sleep?"

He sat on the edge of her bed. "I'm afraid of thunder," he whispered, clutching the pillow to his chest as the next bang of thunder passed by. When he heard her giggle, he shushed her. "Don't tell anyone. I've got a reputation to uphold."

She smiled, making her white teeth one of the only things visible in the dark. "I can't sleep either. Want to climb in with me?"

He looked at her indecisively. It wouldn't do any good to either of their reputation if they were caught in the same bed. But the crack of thunder decided for him. The mage nodded vigorously.

Daine pat the bed next to her, inviting him to lie down. He crawled in beside her, trying to get as far away as Daine as possible. He wiggled to get comfortable and put his pillow beneath his head. When he stopped moving, she rolled over to wrap her arms around him. She breathed in deeply, loving his spicy scent of amber and cinnamon.

"Magelet," Numair said, startled.

"Shut up," she said softly into his ear, tightening her grip on him.

He cautiously put an arm around her. "I love you, Magelet." He kissed her wild curls. "These are nights that I wish we shared a room."

"Then make it official," she suggested, pulling back to look at him thoroughly. "I'll move in with you."

"But…" he started. Daine would have none of it. She placed a chaste kiss on his lips just to silence him.

"Deal?" she asked.

He nodded and hugged her tighter. "Good night, Magelet," he murmured against her smoky brown curls.

"Good night, Numair."

Another crack of thunder sounded through the room but neither of the mages stirred. It certainly woke up a cat, though. _Daine,_ it meowed. _What's happening? Is the stork man there?_

She laughed inwardly. Even after explaining to them who exactly the 'stork man' was, they still kept the nickname.

_Yes,_ she told it gently with her magic. _Everything's fine. Just go back to sleep. _

_Okay,_ it said.

_If a thunder storm was what it took for him to agree, _she thought. _Then the Gods should've sent one months ago. _Daine buried her head in his chest and smiled. She had no need of blankets now.

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><p><strong>(AN) Hi! I said that I'd update on the 23rd, right? Well, this is the closest to the 23rd I could get ^_^ Hehee. Sorry. Well, I've got awesome news (For me)! I have a part in the Play! We're going to be performing Honk! The Musical with excerpts from Pippin and I'll be playing Penny! Penny's a swan, by the way. :D ^_^**

**Well, thank you so much for reading! I'd love it if you could leave a review and any constructive criticism is welcome! Byebye! Have a wonderful life! **

**Warmest Regards,**

**Nell**


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